This invention relates to overcaps for mounting on the top of cans or containers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tamper-resistant overcap having a tear strip that must be removed before the overcap can be removed from the can or container.
Overcaps provide a protective covering for a dispensing device (e.g., push-to-spray button, discharge nozzle, etc.) positioned on the can or container. To remove the contents of the can or container the cap is removed and the dispensing device is activated. Such overcaps are typically formed in a mold using a plastics materials such as polypropylene or high density polyethylene.
The cans or containers are stores in warehouses and later displayed on store shelves for purchase by consumers. During the time period when the cans or containers are stores and displayed they may be accessible to people who wish to tamper with them. It is known to apply a shrink wrap cover to aerosol cans and lids to maximize the tamper resistance of such units. However, this extra packaging step takes time and increases packaging costs.
Consumers are able to determine if the can or containers they are purchasing has been tampered with if the can or container is covered by a tamper-resistant overcap. If the tear strip is missing when the consumer purchases the product, then the consumer is put on notice that the can or container may have been tampered with. After the tear strip is removed from the overcap, a remaining closure portion of the overcap is used to cover the can or containers.
According to the present disclosure, a tamper-resistant closure includes a cap and a removable tamper band coupled to a lower edge of the cap to define a frangible tear line between the cap and the tamper band. Retainers are provided on each of the cap and the removable tamper band for engaging an annular ridge on a can to retain the cap on the can. The tamper-resistant closure is mounted easily on a can having a body and a dome coupled to a top end of the body and formed to include an annular ridge surrounding a discharge valve mounted on the dome.
In preferred embodiments, the retainers on the tamper band cooperate with the retainers on the cap to retain the cap on the can as long as the tamper band is coupled to the cap and the closure is mounted on the can in a tamper-resistant position. Once the tamper band is separated from the cap along the frangible tear line, the cap can be mounted on the can by the consumer and the cap is retained on the can only by engagement of the remaining cap retainers on the cap with the annular ridge on the can.
Three xe2x80x9cshortxe2x80x9d cap retainers are appended to an inner surface of the cap. These cap retainers are arranged to lie in circumferentially spaced-apart relation to one another and to engage the annular ridge on the can whether or not the tamper band is coupled to the cap. Three xe2x80x9clongxe2x80x9d tamper band retainers are appended to an inner surface of the removable tamper band. The tamper band retainers are arranged to engage the annular ridge on the can until the tamper band is removed by a consumer prior to removal of the cap from the can.
Also in preferred embodiments, the frangible tear line is undulated. Even though the cap retainers lie above the frangible tear line and the tamper band retainers lie below the frangible tear line, each tamper band retainer lies in a space between each pair of xe2x80x9cadjacentxe2x80x9d cap retainers to form an annular alternating series of cap and tamper band retainers because of the undulated character of the frangible tear line.
Additional features of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.